Seahawks VP of Player Affairs Maurice Kelly Headed To Pro Bowl As Part Of NFC Coaching Staff

Vice president of player affairs Maurice Kelly will join Seahawks players Devon Witherspoon and Leonard Williams at the Pro Bowl this week.

Jan 27, 2025 at 01:19 PM

John Boyle

Seahawks.com Senior Reporter

The Seahawks are sending two players to this week's Pro Bowl Games, cornerback Devon Witherspoon and defensive lineman Leonard Williams, and those two defensive standouts won't be the only people representing the team in Orlando.

Maurice Kelly, the team's vice president of player affairs who has been with the organization for 20 years, is also Pro Bowl bound as a member of the Eli Manning led NFC coaching staff.

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Kelly one of two heads of player engagement on the NFC staff along with Carolina's Kevin Winston, will be attending his third Pro Bowl in a player engagement role, one that involves a lot of helping players with the logistics of the event.

"It's really like herding cats, that's what I do there," Kelly said with a laugh. "Just making sure the guys get from Point A to Point B, kind of being that liaison for them. We've got a lot of different things going on, you've got the skills competition, you've got community events that are going on, then you've got practice for the game. So it's just making sure the guys get to where they need to go, and if they have any questions, point them in the right direction."

The Pro Bowl is also a good chance for Kelly to share ideas with his counterparts from around the league.

"To me it's always good to get together with counterparts, because everybody goes through different things, but if I'm going through something, maybe you're going through something similar in the next couple of years," he said. "So to get a chance to get with the guys who do the same work is always good."

Kelly, better knowns as Mo to players and co-workers, is one of the many people in the organization doing vital work behind the scenes. He may get an occasional shoutout in a press conference from general manager/president of football operations John Schneider or head coach Mike Macdonald, but most people outside of the Virginia Mason Athletic Center don't realize the significance of his role with players.

Working out of an office located just outside the players locker room, Kelly regularly has players in his office, sometimes to dispense advice, but often times just to listen, or to facilitate a conversation between other players. Just about anything a player needs to help them in life outside of football, Kelly is able to either provide, or he is able to point them in the direction of someone who can help.

"I would say, I'm like the liaison between the players and the coaches, and the players and the front office," Kelly said. "I'm trying to help them with getting themselves prepared for life after football. The transition into the game, the life of the game, and then the transition out of the game. I know that sounds like a lot, but it entails a lot. So as the guys are coming in, you help them as they transition in, help them find a place to stay, what's going on, what it's going to look like when they're here. Then the life of, what's that mean? It means family issues, and all the other stuff that comes along with you being a professional athlete, then the next step, how do you transition out of the game.

"My job is to help them understand, what is the real NFL? The average lifespan of a career is 3.2 years. All we talk about are guys playing 10-plus years; they're the outliers. That's not the reality for most of the league. There's injuries, how do you deal with that psychologically? The mental part, your mental health, all of these things fall in player engagement… Anything dealing with our players, I'm trying to help them understand what's really going on, and just be a voice and an advocate for them."

During a playing career than included two seasons with the Seahawks, Kelly saw teams try to provide players with off-the-field resources, but not to the extent of what teams are doing today with employees in roles like his.

"When I was playing, (Seahawks Legend) Nesby Glasgow was the guy in this role, and it was player programs. It was cool, but it wasn't to the level we have it now. It's impactful. We have position coaches, we have coordinators, we have strength and conditioning guys, but we also know that life is life, so you're going to need some people to help with that. To be able to sit down and get a chance to not talk Xs and Os, but to talk about real life situations that we all go through, I'm here to provide resources for them and to point them in the right direction.

"For me, I do more listening than I do anything else. Because sometimes the guys just hearing it themselves, saying it, I don't have to say anything. But just for them to know that they have the resources, that we care about them, for me, that's the biggest thing. I love to win football games, but I want to see all of these guys win in life."

Kelly isn't the only member of the organization putting in some extra offseason work this week. Tyson Prince, the team's assistant wide receivers coach, will coach receivers for the National Team at this week's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

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